Helply vs. BoldDesk: The AI help desk without agent bundles

Helply vs. BoldDesk: the quick verdict

BoldDesk fits teams that want Facebook, Instagram, and LINE in one inbox, or that plan to buy extra credits at $40 per 1,000. Helply fits B2B and B2C teams that outgrow a BoldDesk tier’s agent bundle and want lower plan prices at the same credit volume. Both name their AI agents Support, Assist, and Background, and those agents can take actions in connected systems.

• BoldDesk: $116 a month ($99 billed yearly) for 1,000 credits and 5 agents, up to $4,705 ($3,999) for 50,000 credits and 250 agents.
• BoldDesk extra agents: $20 each a month on either billing term; anyone who logs in, even to view tickets, counts as an agent.
• Helply: unlimited users whatever block you buy; the 500-credit entry block costs $49 a month ($42 billed yearly).
• At 7,000 credits a month: Helply costs $399 ($339 billed yearly) with unlimited users; BoldDesk costs $705 ($599 billed yearly) with 30 agents.
• Unused Helply credits stay usable for one more month; BoldDesk resets credits at the start of each billing month.
• Helply ships five prebuilt Background Agents, including Churn and Revenue; BoldDesk runs field prediction, sentiment, and auto-merge, plus custom agents you build.

Helply vs. BoldDesk compared: pricing, credit weights, and team access

Helply and BoldDesk both sell a full help desk with AI agents and bill AI work in credits. They differ on how many people each plan includes, the plan price of a credit, and what happens to unused credits.

How Helply’s credit plans differ from BoldDesk’s

Every teammate in the inbox, on any credit block

Anyone who logs in to BoldDesk, even to view tickets, needs an agent license. A 25-person team on BoldDesk’s 1,000-credit tier pays $516 a month ($499 billed yearly, the price of its 6,000-credit tier with 25 agents). On Helply, those 20 extra people add no fee; you buy credits for the AI’s work alone.

Catch churn and upgrade signals without building an agent

Helply’s Background Agents watch every conversation: the Churn Agent flags churn risk, and the Revenue Agent spots upgrade intent. Three more find doc gaps, group feature requests, and surface new issues. BoldDesk runs field prediction, sentiment, and auto-merge on every ticket, and teams can build custom Background Agents in its Agent Builder.

Lower plan prices at the same credit volume, with rollover

Helply’s 7,000-credit block costs $399 a month ($339 billed yearly), against $705 ($599) for BoldDesk’s 7,000-credit tier with 30 agents. Leftover Helply credits stay usable through the following month, while BoldDesk’s monthly credits reset. On annual billing, Helply pools credits across the year.

BoldDesk pricing vs. Helply pricing

BoldDesk costs $116 to $4,705 a month ($99 to $3,999 billed yearly) for 1,000 to 50,000 AI credits, with 5 to 250 agents. Past the tier’s bundle, BoldDesk charges $20 a month per agent, while Helply has no per-user fees. Helply’s blocks range from $49 a month ($42 billed yearly) for 500 credits up to $1,549 ($1,317) for 32,000.

BoldDesk plans and add-ons, October 2026:

• 1,000 credits and 5 agents: $116 a month ($99 billed yearly)
• 2,000 credits and 10 agents: $234 a month ($199 billed yearly)
• 3,000 credits and 15 agents: $352 a month ($299 billed yearly)
• 5,000 credits and 20 agents: $469 a month ($399 billed yearly)
• 6,000 credits and 25 agents: $587 a month ($499 billed yearly)
• 7,000 credits and 30 agents: $705 a month ($599 billed yearly)
• 8,000 credits and 35 agents: $822 a month ($699 billed yearly)
• 9,000 credits and 40 agents: $940 a month ($799 billed yearly)
• 10,000 credits and 50 agents: $1,175 a month ($999 billed yearly)
• 15,000 credits and 75 agents: $1,646 a month ($1,399 billed yearly)
• 20,000 credits and 100 agents: $2,116 a month ($1,799 billed yearly)
• 25,000 credits and 125 agents: $2,587 a month ($2,199 billed yearly)
• 30,000 credits and 150 agents: $3,058 a month ($2,599 billed yearly)
• 35,000 credits and 175 agents: $3,528 a month ($2,999 billed yearly)
• 40,000 credits and 200 agents: $3,999 a month ($3,399 billed yearly)
• 50,000 credits and 250 agents: $4,705 a month ($3,999 billed yearly)
• Above 50,000 credits: custom pricing on an annual contract, with annual credit pooling
• Extra agents: $20 each a month on either billing term
• Credit top-ups: $40 per 1,000 credits, valid until your next renewal date

At 1,000 B2B conversations a month, a team needs about 7,000 Helply credits: $399 a month ($339 billed yearly). The same volume of B2C conversations needs about 4,000, which costs $249 a month ($212 billed yearly). BoldDesk recommends its 5,000-credit tier for either volume in its calculator’s default Standard setting: $469 a month ($399 billed yearly).

Teams that switched

Switching from BoldDesk

Run Helply beside BoldDesk on a slice of your queue, compare the results, and move the rest when you choose. You set Helply up from your own knowledge, CRM, and channels, since it has no BoldDesk importer.

1. Start the 14-day trial and route one channel to Helply, such as a support address, while BoldDesk keeps the rest.
2. Import your help center content, link your CRM, and connect Notion, Confluence, Google Drive, or GitBook.
3. Move the rest of your channels to Helply once AI resolutions and workflows on that slice meet your bar.

What comes with you:

• Your help center content and connected docs
• Customer and company context from HubSpot, Salesforce, Attio, or Pipedrive
• Your support email addresses, chat, and messaging channels, reconnected to Helply

See how Helply imports your knowledge base

Helply or BoldDesk: which should you choose?

Choose BoldDesk if:

• You want Facebook, Instagram, and LINE conversations in your help desk inbox.
• Your team fits the agents bundled in your credit tier, such as 30 agents at 7,000 credits.
• You’re moving from another help desk and want a free migration, plus up to six months of contract buyout if you qualify.
• You plan to buy credits past your tier: BoldDesk sells top-ups at $40 per 1,000.
• You qualify for BoldDesk’s startup program: free for 12 months with up to 5 agents and 1,000 AI credits a month.

Choose Helply if:

• Your queue is growing faster than you plan to hire.
• Product and engineering want inbox access without paying $20 a month per login past BoldDesk’s bundled agents.
• Your customers reach you in Slack Connect channels or Microsoft Teams.
• You want prebuilt Churn, Revenue, and Insights Agents on every plan.
• You want cheaper plans at every credit volume both vendors sell, a $49 monthly entry block, and one-month rollover.

Frequently asked questions

• How is Helply different from BoldDesk?

  Helply includes unlimited users; BoldDesk bundles 5 to 250 human agents by tier, plus $20 a month per extra agent. Both weight credits by complexity.

• Can Helply replace BoldDesk?

  Yes. Helply is a complete help desk, with a shared inbox, ticketing, live chat, a knowledge base, reporting, and workflows around its AI agents.

• How much does BoldDesk cost?

  BoldDesk costs $116 to $4,705 a month ($99 to $3,999 billed yearly) for 1,000 to 50,000 AI credits. Extra agents cost $20 each a month.

• How do BoldDesk AI credits work?

  BoldDesk charges 1 to 2 credits per simple answer, 3 to 5 per one-system task, and 8 to 12 per multi-step workflow.

• Is there a free version of BoldDesk?

  BoldDesk has no free plan. It offers a 15-day free trial with no credit card, and qualifying startups can use it free for 12 months.

• Who owns BoldDesk?

  Syncfusion is the company behind BoldDesk. BoldDesk’s one plan bundles 5 to 250 human agents with 1,000 to 50,000 AI credits a month.

• How does Helply’s pricing work?

  Helply counts credits per AI action and sells them in monthly blocks from $49 ($42 billed yearly). Every plan includes unlimited users.

• Is Helply cheaper than BoldDesk?

  Yes, billed yearly, at 1,000 conversations a month and each vendor’s Standard estimate: Helply costs $339 (B2B) or $212 (B2C); BoldDesk costs $399.

• Do unused credits roll over on Helply and BoldDesk?

  On Helply, yes: unused credits last one more month, or all year on annual billing. BoldDesk resets monthly credits; custom 50,000+ plans can pool them.

• What is the best BoldDesk alternative?

  Helply fits teams that want a credit model like BoldDesk’s with unlimited users. Its plans start at $49 a month, with five prebuilt Background Agents.

• Does BoldDesk work with Slack?

  Yes, for human agents: customers can’t open BoldDesk tickets in Slack. On Helply, you can run customer conversations in Microsoft Teams and Slack Connect channels.

• Can I run Helply alongside BoldDesk before switching?

  Yes. Route one channel to Helply during the 14-day trial, import your help center content, then move the rest of your queue.